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Kursusbeskrivelse
Kursusnavn (dansk):Spildesign 
Kursusnavn (engelsk):Game Design 
Semester:Efterår 2010 
Udbydes under:cand.it., medieteknologi og spil (mtg) 
Omfang i ECTS:15,00 
Kursussprog:Engelsk 
Kursushjemmeside:https://blog.itu.dk/MGD-E2010/ 
Min. antal deltagere:15 
Forventet antal deltagere:41 
Maks. antal deltagere:80 
Formelle forudsætninger:This is an introductory course, but it is an advantage to be aware of different computer- and video game genres, as well as board games and other non-digital games. A wide knowledge of games is desirable but not required. 
Læringsmål:After the course, the student should be able to:

- Conceptualize, prototype, develop and test a digital game.
- Reflect on the relation between game design and interaction design, as well as other design disciplines, and how they can inform the design activity.
- Reflect on the role of the designer in the production of a game, from concept development to testing, with focus on decision making, responsibilities, group-and-schedule management, and creativity.
- Reflect on the relation between design choices and player experiences, as a central element for making innovative and engaging computer games.
- Reflect on their individual contribution to a team-oriented game development process, using the appropriate design terminology and examples.
- Evaluate the originality of a game concept based on design theories and game history.
- Evaluate game concepts through playtesting and usability methods.
- Structure the process from concept development to testing, from board to digital game.
- Practice different concept development methods.
- Practice different usability and playtesting methods.
- Perform basic programming, art, project management and/or design activities, applied to computer game development.
- Perform the basics of sketching, prototyping, iterative design and development methods applied to computer game development. 
Fagligt indhold:The course is centered on the concept development, design, implementation and testing of a computer game prototype, as well as on the critical reflection on the design process and the role of game developers as reflective practitioners.

The game can be anything from a casual game to an Alternative Reality Game, to a Facebook game. The student is free to chose genre, style, platform and technology.

We want to encourage students to create innovative, experimental games. Innovation and experimentation are understood in a broad sense: an experimental game can be defined as any game that uses either the technology, the platform, or the presence of players in a way that challenges game design conventions, explores new expressive means, addresses new mechanics or design types, or introduces input or output devices previously unused in game development. The students will have the help of the course manager in deciding on the appropriateness of a concept for the course.

The course has two areas of relevance:
- Theoretical: this course will explore the relations between game design theory and practice, and design theory and practice. To do so, students will be required to familiarize themselves with a wide selection of texts, ranging from interaction design to usability and industrial design. The goal is for the student to understand how game design as a discipline relates to the design of other media and objects.

- Practical: this course is oriented to the development of critical practice skills, that is, the capacity of creating and reflecting upon what is created. Students will have to develop a game prototype. The prototype will be developed in self-selected groups of no more than 5 people.

Besides the game prototype, students will be asked to create different types of objects, from board games to game concepts, based on key notions explored in the lectures.

The course will give the students:
- A basic understanding of game design and design methodologies, from concept development to user experience testing and evaluation.
- A familiarity with essential game design and design literature.
- The tools for developing reflective practitioner skills, and the capacity to adapt them to different creative contexts.
- The ability to improve a game design based on prototyping and testing on actual users.
- Skills on a number of game development platforms, methods, and tools.

To achieve these goals, the students will have to:
- Read and familiarize themselves with the selected design and game design literature.
- Make balanced development groups, with representation of different skills and goals.
- Create a game prototype, from concept to user testing.

All student groups will be paired with another, to maximize peer-to-peer feedback.
 
Læringsaktiviteter:14 ugers undervisning bestående af forelæsninger og øvelser

The course consists of 14 weeks of teaching. Teaching is here understood as a wide array of activities:

- Lectures: lectures are typically given in the first two hours of classes. They are focused on one set of related game design issues. They are typically teacher-centric lectures, but students participation is highly encouraged.

- Practical exercises: exercises are typically conducted in the last 2 hours of class. There are two types: short exercises are performed during the first hour, and discussed and evaluated during the second. Long exercises are often proposed before a weekend, and evaluated the first day of classes afterwards, using two hours. There are also shorter exercises as part of the lectures.

- Seminars: seminars are typically conducted in the last 2 hours of class. Seminars are used to discuss in group clusters of readings from the course pensum. They are student-guided: some students will be leading the discussion, but all students are encouraged to participate.

- Group supervisions: group supervision take place in the last two months of the course, and are focused on direct interaction between the teacher and the groups developing a game, with the goal of providing early feedback on the production. Group supervisions are voluntary.

- External talks: external talks are often one hour long, and given by industry representatives, on topics that are either not addressed in class, or only superficially touched upon, and that are external to the core pensum of the course.




Students are expected to attend lectures and participate in the exercises. Seminars and group supervision are strictly voluntary.
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Information om studiestruktur / Information about study structure
Dette kursus er en del af MTG's backbone, som du kan finde beskrevet her:
MTG studiestruktur

This course is part of the MTG backbone - find it described here:
MTG study structure  

Eksamensform og -beskrivelse:X. experimental examination form (7-scale; external exam), 7-trins-skala, Ekstern censur

External examiner, 7-point marking scale, B6: oral examination with production(s) but without time for preparation at the exam.

The course is structured around a series of mandatory deliverables. Failure to submit these deliverables will mean that the student will not be eligible for the final exam. The mandatory deliverables have to be handed in by the end of the semester, together with the rest of the documentation, as they are also a part of the final grading.These are the mandatory deliverables:
- MTG-T students have to hand in a 2000 word review of Juul, Jesper (2005), Half-Real. Videogames Between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. The MIT Press. Deadline is October 26th at 15:00. Reviews must be individual.
- MTG-D and MTG-A students have to submit a basic digital game (requirements will be described in the course website). Deadline is October 26th at 15:00. Games must be developed individually.
- All groups have to prepare an oral presentation (requirements described in the course website) that will take place between November 23rd and December 2nd.
- All groups must hand in a tutorial of their game (requirements described in the course website) on December 7th.

The book review, basic game, and tutorial will be used in the final evaluation.

By the deadline date, students must hand in:
- All mandatory deliverables (book review or game, and tutorial), plus the game they have developed, plus documentation relative to the game, plus a 2000 word individual reflection on the design and development process.

The assesment is calculated as follows:

30% game

30% written material specific for the exam

30%oral exam

10% deliverables

Every grading element will be evaluated with a 7-point marking scale. The final grade will be a weighted average (according to ministerial order and grading scale §13 - Ministerial order of grading scale and other forms of Assesment of Univeristy Education (grading scale order)).


Game:
The game is evaluated following these criteria:
- It has to have at least 5 levels or equivalent, showing a set of core mechanics identifiable by players.
- The game has to have some skill and challenge progression.
- The game has to be fully playable, with a clear endstate.
- The game has to have exclusively original content. No copyrighted material is allowed.
- The game has to be either:
* a polished clone of an existing game, introducing at least one incremental innovation (eg. an eight-way shooter with cooperative gameplay), or
* an original game based on a unique mechanic, platform, or interaction model (eg. a webcam-controlled cooperative multiplayer game).

- Students will be expected to be able to explain their design decisions with respect to these requirements.

Written material:
1. The game has to be accompanied by the formalized results of at least one playtest and one usability test. These documents should include:

* Details on the realization of the tests: how were they planned, how were the testers recruited, when did the tests take place, how were results collected and processed.
* All documentation used for/in the test: questionnaires, audio/video files, interview transcripts, gameplay logs, …
* A short (800 word max.) summary of how the test results affected the development of the game.

2. Each student has to hand in for the exam a max. 2000 word individual reflection on the design and development process. This document is evaluated following these criteria:
- The student should identify the different parts of the game development process, as well as her/his role in each of these.
- The student should be able to reflect about her/his participation on each of the development stages, identifying critical situations and how those were addressed.
- The student should use references from the course literature to illustrate her arguments and reflections. This use includes critical readings of the literature as well as the use of the game produced as a case study.

Oral exam:
The oral exam consists of a 15 minutes max. conversation with no prior preparation around one topic extracted from any of the texts that conform the course syllabus. The student is expected to:
- be familiar with all the literature,
- be able to critically engage with the readings,
- be able to address the exam topic using the appropriate literature, as well as the students’ own experience,
- be able to relate the topic to other texts from the course.  

Litteratur udover forskningsartikler:The main books of the course are:
Fullerton, Tracy. Game Design Workshop. A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games (Gama Network Series). 2nd edition. Morgan Kaufmann, 2008.

Norman, Donald A. The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books, 2002.

Juul, Jesper. Half-Real. Videogames Between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. The MIT Press, 2005 (only for T students)


 
 
Afholdelse (tid og sted)
Kurset afholdes på følgende tid og sted:
UgedagTidspunktForelæsning/ØvelserStedLokale
Tirsdag 08.30-10.30 Forelæsning ITU Aud 1, Gamelab, Lille Gamelab
Tirsdag 10.45-12.45 Øvelser ITU Aud 1, Gamelab, lille Gamelab
Torsdag 08.30-10.30 Forelæsning ITU Aud 2, Gamelab, lille Gamelab
Torsdag 10.45-12.45 Øvelser ITU Aud 2, Gamelab, lille Gamelab

Eksamen afholdes på følgende tid og sted:
EksamensdatoTidspunktEksamenstypeStedLokale
2010-12-15 No later than 3 PM Skriftlige arbejder ITU The Examination Office
2011-01-12 Please contact the course manager Mundtlig eksamen ITU 2A12
2011-01-13 Please contact the course manager Mundtlig eksamen ITU 2A12
2011-01-14 Please contact the course manager Mundtlig eksamen ITU 2A12
2011-01-17 Please contact the course manager Mundtlig eksamen ITU 2A12
2011-01-18 Please contact the course manager Mundtlig eksamen ITU 2A12